Page 38 of Live for Me

“I see Abbie hasn’t changed.”

I froze as the new voice registered in my ears, and my head snapped up.

Fucking Van Gogh.

My eyes nearly popped out of my head at the group of cowboys standing in front of the barn. When my eyes landed on Mason Langston, all the air left my lungs, and I forgot how to breathe entirely.

Mason Langston was here—at Hallow Ranch—with Denver.

The brothers were standing beside each other, Denver in dark colors and Mason in warm colors. Both of them had black cowboy hats on. Denver’s arms were folded over his massive chest, his dark beard longer than I remembered. Mason pulled his hat off, revealing their mother’s dirty blond hair as he pushed it back. Leaning against the barn was a man who looked similar to Denver. Dark hair, dark clothes, black cowboy hat, and his trimmed black beard offset his wild, long hair hanging down his neck, stopping just over his shoulders. His dark gaze was on me and me alone, as if he was trying to stare into my soul.

I see Mags still hasn’t left Hallow Ranch.

All three of them were older, more weathered in the way cowboys got, but it didn’t make any of them less attractive. That was the thing about Hallow Ranch. It didn’t just breed healthy cattle. It wasn’t just one of the wealthiest ranches in the state. It was home to handsome, scorching hot cowboys.

“Who is that?”

My attention moved from Mags to the two younger cowboys on Denver’s other side. One had a cream hat, like Beau’s, and the other had a brown hat. Both of them were just a few inches shorter than the Langston brothers, but no one was taller than them. They were giants, just like their father, grandfather, and all the cowboys who came before them. The cowboy with the brown hat, tilted his head to the side, giving me a better view of his face, and I realized they were twins.

“This is Abbie,” Beau answered as if that cleared everything thing up.

However, when the twins shared a look, my heart skipped a beat.

Beau had told them about me, meaning everyone on this ranch knew what I did. I wanted to run far away from this place andhide. I never intended on coming back this ranch—let alone be dragged back to it.

“Did you really kidnap her?” Denver’s deep voice rumbled. My eyes flicked back to him and I was ready to tell him everything, but Beau turned to the side.

“Ain’t kidnapping if she’s in danger.”

The twins chuckled, the one with the cream hat shaking his head. Mason looked at his boots.

“When did you get back, Mase?” Beau asked.

The cowboy looked back up to Beau and jerked his chin to the left, but I couldn’t see what was over there. “Got in this morning,” he answered.

“Thought you were heading to California,” Beau said.

Mason smiled and shrugged a shoulder. “Harm wanted to come home, so we came home.”

Who was Harm?

So many questions were burning in my mind, and I mentally kicked myself for letting my curiosity almost get the best of me.

These people aren’t in your life anymore, Abbie.

They don’t care about you, and you can’t care about them—no matter how much you want to.

Denver’s eyes were on Beau for some time as I lifted up again. Then, when those gray eyes landed on me, my gut twisted, seeing something within them that scared the ever-living shit out of me. “I take it she wasn’t going to listen to you,” he said, looking back at Beau.

Beau grunted. “She never does.”

I opened my mouth, ready to cuss him out again, but Denver cut me off. “When the day is done, we need to have a chat, Beau.”

“Knew that was fucking coming,” Beau grumbled. I sucked in a breath as his thumb began stroking the back of my thigh.

He was trying to comfort me.

My eyes flicked over to the famous bull rider, and Mason tipped his hat to me. “Abbie,” he greeted, his face set in stone. Thankfully, he didn’t have the same murderous look in his eye as his older brother. The only thing I saw within his was disappointment.

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